This puzzle:

Drop-a-letter and add-a-letter themes have been done so often that it's tough to get traction with editors for this type of puzzle. Consequently, I don't construct many of them. I made the ... read more

Drop-a-letter and add-a-letter themes have been done so often that it's tough to get traction with editors for this type of puzzle. Consequently, I don't construct many of them. I made the exception here because a) I liked that the title is a little tricky (it's meant to be parsed as "No 'N' starters") and b) I liked all the theme answers, with a couple (A NOOK OF THE NORTH and OISE POLLUTION) that particularly cracked me up.

On this admittedly flimsy foundation, I invested the many requisite evening and weekend hours it takes me to make a Sunday puzzle, and was thrilled when it was accepted for the New York Times. I hope solvers enjoy it.

Jill Denny notes:

A tidy Sunday grid with an eat theme. Er, rather, a neat theme. Ow, we're cooking with gas! Drop-a-letter themes are common enough, so the burden is on the constructor to choose clever, ... read more

Drop-a-letter themes are common enough, so the burden is on the constructor to choose clever, colorful theme entries. ORMAN CONQUEST? A NOOK OF THE NORTH? Great stuff. OISE POLLUTION was the only outlier in my solve. Although it works visually, OISE is pronounced "wahz," like the first syllable of "lozenge", so the theme phrase clunked in my ear, like a tiny blip of noise pollution.

Other notables:

Virginia APGAR was a pioneering obstetric anesthesiologist who created a quick system for assessing the affects of anesthesia on newborns. Newborns are assigned points based on five criteria: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respirations ... very convenient parameters, Dr. APGAR.

CERES, the Roman goddess of the harvest, appropriately crosses with TESS, a dimunitive for Teresa, meaning 'to harvest or reap'. TESS also happens to be one of the most beautiful names in the world, according to an unbiased source.

Another apt crossing: WESLEY and HYMNS, with O LORD hanging off to the side. John Wesley was known for his efforts in writing and anthologizing poetry and hymns, elevating their importance in worship services.

Even with his crossword-friendly vowel/consonant alternation, Milton OBOTE is vastly outnumbered by Idi AMIN in terms of Shortz-era appearances, at a score of 7 to 44. If only he had changed his name to BOTE. Or TESS.